RIT School of Design honored among world's best

Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Design has been ranked 11th on “The World’s 25 Best Design Schools,” a new survey conducted by Business Insider magazine shows.

The ranking is based on a survey of industry professionals, with more than two-thirds of them rating RIT’s School of Design as “extremely valuable” or “valuable.” Among the 633 respondents, 87.8 percent said they studied or participated in a college-level design program; most are product designers (30.3 percent) or art directors (26.9 percent).

“College of Imaging Arts and Sciences produces some of the most prepared, career-oriented designers in the workforce,” one respondent noted in the survey. “The programs feature small class sizes, working professionals as professors and top-of-the-line technology. The quirky blend of technical and art-oriented students help to mold the innovative thinkers. If you want your first pick of jobs out of college, come to RIT.”

This marks the third time in six years the school has been ranked among the top design schools, also appearing on the rankings in 2006 and 2008.

RIT’s School of Design, one of six schools within the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, offers programs such as graphic design, interior design, new media design and computer graphics design.

“Today’s designers not only need to be highly talented, they have to show companies—especially those where design and creativity are at the core of their businesses—that they are prepared to meet their demanding requirements,” said Lorraine Justice, dean of the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, in a statement. “RIT’s School of Design works hard and takes pride in responding to the needs of our students, and ultimately their employers, which this latest survey of industry professionals certainly recognizes.”